2022 World Cup from A to Z

Everything You Need to Know

Set to start in Qatar on Sunday, this will mark the first World Cup to be held in the Middle East. Though there is much anticipation surrounding the event, the actual location has been met with controversy. Due to Qatar’s intense heat in the summer, the 2022 World Cup will be held in the fall/winter for the first time in history.

There are 32 teams at the World Cup and they were drawn into eight groups of four. Kickoff in the opening match takes place on Sunday with hosts Qatar taking on Ecuador. The first two teams in the groups will automatically qualify for the knockout stages. Teams will be allowed five substitutions in each game as opposed to three from the previous World Cup in Russia in 2018. If a World Cup game goes into extra time, one additional substitution will be allowed.

In November, participating countries named their squads containing a maximum of 26 players, three more than what was allowed at the World Cup in Russia. The World Cup will be broadcast live across FOX Sports in English as well as on Telemundo in Spanish. If you don’t have cable, you can live stream the World Cup on Peacock and Fubo. For the first time at the men’s World Cup, three women have been included among the 36 referees selected for Qatar 2022.

This is a strange World Cup. For players and fans in Qatar, and viewers worldwide, the games come around early and often on a more intense schedule than any previous group stage. Four separate kickoff time slots are needed to make this tournament work. In Qatar, there will be back-to-back games for 11 straight days to squeeze this World Cup into only 29 days – three fewer than were used to play four years ago in Russia.

At BetUS, we will cover every game and share our best soccer picks and props so make sure you follow us closely because our experts are here to win.

How to Bet on the World Cup

The European top leagues had warned of very severe damage being done to their members’ sporting and financial interests by shutting them down for at least six weeks. We are in the middle of the domestic league season, which means the players will be more fatigued, and the weather in Qatar will play an important role.

Go Low

If you’re betting online, bet on low-scoring games at least in the first part of the tournament. The small countries will definitely focus on the defense and try to play for the draw because if they pick up four points, they will qualify in the knockout stages. In the last match of the group stage, teams that have already qualified will surely rest many of their stars trying to have them fully fit for the later stages.

Ride the Scorers

Bet on penalties when a favorite is playing against an underdog. Usually, a penalty scored in a match is priced at around +350 to +400. Bet on goal scorers. Leo Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe, and Robert Lewandowski are all priced at plus money and that’s great news for us. If you’re betting on outrights, put your eggs in different baskets.

Underdogs & Golden Bets

The World Cup offers plenty of outright opportunities. The simplest group options are for a team to win the group or to advance to the knockout stage, by finishing in the top two of the four teams. Most of the groups have one or two heavy favorites, so you can find plus-money prices on underdogs at good value since soccer is a high-variance sport in which one goal or foul, or bounce can change so much.

On top of that, we have the Golden Boot for the player with the most goals scored, the Golden Glove for the best goalkeeper and the Golden Ball for the best player in the tournament.